Magnetic cards compatible with the ISO 7811 standard comprise a magnetic tape comprising three recording tracks (generally called the ISO 1, ISO 2 and ISO 3 tracks). These tracks can contain information related to the card owner. In particular, information about a bank account, and encrypted data are stored on such tracks.
The use of such magnetic cards is very widespread in the banking field, for making transactions with merchants. During such transactions, a customer's magnetic card is inserted at the end of a slot (into which the end of a magnetic reading head is presented, on one of the faces of the walls forming the slot) in a payment terminal, and a motion of translation of the card is performed (the magnetic card is made to slide in this slot so that the magnetic tape of the card is presented facing the end of the magnetic reading head). Thus, the end of the magnetic reading head goes back into physical contact with the magnetic track of the magnetic card, and it measures the polarization of the magnetic particles on portions of the magnetic track considered (through the translation motion) and deduces binary information therefrom.
During the motion of translation of the magnetic card in the slot of the payment terminal, pressure is exerted on the magnetic reading head by the sliding of the magnetic card. Thus, a reading head must be capable of moving perpendicularly to the axis of translation of a card in the slot. In addition, the passage of a card in the slot may induce a slight tilting of the magnetic reading head in relation to the axis perpendicular to the axis of translation of the card.
In order to stabilize the magnetic reading head during the reading of a card, it proves to be necessary to use a device for holding such a head (in order to limit the above-mentioned movement, this function being called a function of “guiding the magnetic reading head”) which also, once the card has passed, makes it possible to reposition the magnetic reading head in its original position (this function is called the function of “returning or cushioning of the magnetic reading head”).
Different types of approaches are known in the prior art to control the guiding and return of the magnetic head. The following patent documents, CN2446589YY, FR2875634, GB2297417A, JP6349035A, JP63302410A, U.S. Pat. No. 4,628,386 A1, U.S. Pat. No. 5,270,523 A1, U.S. Pat. No. 5,552,947 A1, U.S. Pat. No. 6,487,046 B1, thus present different techniques for making devices for holding a magnetic reading head.
However, these different techniques have several drawbacks.
In particular, these approaches require the use of numerous metal parts (namely spring wires or vertical strips acting as springs) which, when manufacturing devices for holding a magnetic reading head, require the use of assembling methods that are complicated to implement.